AssA-Irada,
13, September 2007

The OSCE Minsk Group (MG) brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh has not exhausted its political potential yet as a regulating body, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told Lithuanian media on Thursday.

Aliyev said that despite the fruitless outcome of talks to settle the long-running dispute, "nothing bad could be said about the Minsk Group and its co-chairs", as they are working in a very creative manner and are striving to foster rapprochement in the positions of the conflicting sides.

"They are working hard, paying frequent visits and trying to agree the provisions that are very difficult to agree upon. Therefore, I am not inclined to be critical about their activity," the head of state said in an interview with Verslo Zinios (Business News) newspaper and Verslo Klase (Business Class) magazine.

Aliyev said Azerbaijan had major discontent with the Minsk Group when it launched its activity. But at a time it is endeavoring to bring the positions of the sides closer based on common principles, the group's efforts should be supported.

"If Armenia displays constructiveness at this point and listens to the voice of common sense and the MG's proposals, the conflict could be settled," Aliyev said.

Asked about the possibility of using the Kosovo settlement as a precedent for the resolution of the Garabagh conflict, the president said: "We are at ease in this respect, as the Garabagh settlement is dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Group represented by the three co-chairs.

"The official stance of all the [three] co-chairing countries is that Azerbaijan's territorial integrity must be unconditionally restored. The entire world community does not accept the idea of Upper Garabagh's cessation from Azerbaijan or granting the region the status of independence in the future. The issue is not being discussed at all," the head of state said, citing the world community's condemnation and refusal to recognize the illegitimate referendum held in the occupied region.

The vote was denounced by the OSCE, the European Union and the Council of Europe.

"Armenian separatists and their cohorts once again disgraced themselves in the eyes of the world community. Therefore, regardless of the outcome of Kosovo settlement, this will not affect the resolution of the Garabagh problem in any way," Aliyev said.

President Aliyev made it clear that the conflict could be settled only with the restoration of the country's territorial integrity, return of over a million refugees and displaced persons to the places of their permanent residence, return of Azerbaijanis ousted from Upper Garabagh, and granting a broad autonomy to the population of Upper Garabagh. "This is a civil approach, an approach based on legal norms and normal, humane treatment."

Aliyev went on to say that Armenia adheres to positions inherent not to present day, but the Middle Ages.

"We are living in the 21st century. They want to be part of the civilized world, or claim to do so. But how will they accomplish this while pursuing this policy? I see no relation here, and based on that, I can say that Azerbaijan's territorial integrity will be restored rain or shine. Certainly, we would like for this to happen by peaceful means, as no one wants more casualties or violence. But at the same time, we can't reconcile with the current situation."

President Aliyev reiterated that Azerbaijan reserved the right to free its occupied land by all means. "If we are confident 100% that peace talks will yield no fruit, we have every right to restore our territorial integrity by all means, including military action, in line with international law. We have to be and are getting ready for this," the commander-in-chief said.

The Azerbaijani leader accused Yerevan of trying to mislead the OSCE mediators in the course of talks.

"This is already common knowledge - they are delaying the [negotiating] process for the sake of political ambitions of some of their leaders, although this is not in their favor. When I joined the negotiating process in 2003 [when President Aliyev came to power], there was parity between the two countries, which is not the case now. We are currently spending on defense as much as Armenia spends on the whole country [its overall budget]."

The head of state emphasized that Azerbaijan's economic growth was incomparable to that of Armenia. The Azerbaijani economy will amount to $25-30 billion this year, compared to no more than $4-5 billion in Armenia.

"They cannot compete with us. We will keep boosting our economic potential by the year. According to the World Bank estimates, Azerbaijan will receive over $200 billion in revenues from the sales of oil alone in the next 20 years," Aliyev said.

He said that besides the Garabagh conflict, Azerbaijan is not facing any major problems. Social issues are being resolved, while poverty and employment eliminated.

"We will do everything in our power to free our land. Armenians should simply understand that instead of bearing with the outcome of Azerbaijan's increasing might, they would be better off leaving the land that does not belong to them on their own free will," President Aliyev said.

He noted that since 2004 Azerbaijan has been involved in the Prague process (phased conflict resolution). "So far all the other options have been examined but no results achieved. If the Prague format turns out fruitless too, there will be no point to keep on negotiating, as there will be nothing to discuss."

Upper Garabagh is an Azeri region occupied by Armenian forces since a 1994 cease-fire ended separatist hostilities that killed an estimated 30,000 people and ousted about a million out of their homes. Years of OSCE-brokered talks have brought little tangible result.